a medical librarian's adventures in evidence-based living

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February 26, 2008

If You Want to Cut Your Cholesterol But a Bowl of Oatmeal Makes You Gag, Try These Do-Ahead Oatmeal Pancakes

This recipe is for my sister who absolutely hates oatmeal and has asked me to post a recipe she would eat. Like the rest of us, she's trying to eat all those cholesterol-lowering foods like oatmeal, but if you can't stand the stuff it's not going to work.

I got this recipe from one of the Information Technology mavens at my hospital while we were listening to a Grand Rounds lecture on, what else, "Nutrition and the Heart". I didn't believe this odd collection of ingredients would really work-but it did.

He told me he makes quantities of these pancakes on a Sunday and stockpiles them in his freezer for on-the-run-breakfasts. One batch makes only 3 servings for me, and I'm too lazy to double or triple the batch. Maybe with a pancake griddle it would be faster.

Here's this super simple, high protein, low fat recipe:

OATMEAL PANCAKES WITH MIXED BERRIES

1 cup of whole grain oats

1 cup of liquid egg whites

1 cup of non-fat small curd cottage cheese

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp cinnamon

top each pancake with 1 cup of fresh or thawed mixed berries, like Rader's Farms or Dole

Mix everything in a medium bowl, and let it sit for about 1/2 hr. until the oatmeal softens a bit. Spray a non-stick pan with olive oil over medium heat and divide the mixture into thirds, about 2/3 cup per pancake. I make them 1 at a time, flatten them out in the pan, and wait until they're really set before flipping the them. Cool the pancakes & store them in the fridge or freezer for a quick breakfast. When serving, top each pancake with a cup of the berries.

My mix is oatmeal, oatbran and egg white, with a bit of water and from time to time additions like chia seeds, a whole egg or two, nonfat yogurt, etc.

They can be cooked ahead and stored in the fridge or freezer for eating on the run.

If they must be made on the griddle, at least use a heated shovel. :)

From Wikipedia:

Scottish soldiers in the 14th Century carried a metal plate and a sack of oatmeal. According to contemporary accounts, one would heat the plate over fire, moisten a bit of oatmeal and make a cake to "comfort his stomach. Hence it is no marvel that the Scots should be able to make longer marches than other men. Latterly these were used by Adam Ricket on long train adventures."[1]

Samuel Johnson referred, disparagingly, to this staple diet in his dictionary definition for oats:

A grain, which in England is generally given to horses, but in Scotland supports the people.